RAPID Grant Proposal: The Sociolinguistic Significance of the Post-Secondary School Stage in the Longitudinal Development of African American English

University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC

Investigators

Abstract

With RAPID Grant Supplement support from National Science Foundation, the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute is extending the data collection and analysis of a longitudinal study of African Americans to include interviews during the post-secondary phase in their life cycle. Starting in 1990, a group of 68 African American youth have been followed longitudinally as they develop and use African American English during childhood and adolescence. The rate of retention (68 of 88 study youth selected in 1990-91 at 6-12 months of age) for the sample population is exceptional, particularly given the background demographics of the cohort group. Language samples were collected progressively from the children at one or two-year increments and interviews were conducted with the children's mothers as well as peers starting in Grade 6. In addition, a battery of standardized and nonstandardized tests were administered, and background information was collected for each child throughout the study to examine a variety of educational and at-risk factors for African American youth. Data were collected for more than 120 demographic, social, psychological, and educational variables for each participant during the study. The data on language development and change during adolescence, the data on family, peer, and school environment, and the data on metalanguage, literacy, and academic achievement measures have resulted in a unique, comprehensive database. They have also led to a number of new, empirically based descriptive, theoretical, and descriptive insights on the early development and progression of African American English and its social and educational significance. The RAPID grant extends the collection of data to the post-secondary phase in incipient adulthood, a critical stage in the career development of African American young adults. Study participants now range from high school dropouts who are unemployed to those currently enrolled at Historically Black Colleges and Universities or predominantly white universities and to those with professional careers. Sociolinguistic interviews are being conducted with participants, and background social and educational data are being collected from subjects as they transition into adulthood so that this landmark longitudinal study can be extended to include a crucial stage in early adulthood. The results from the longitudinal study of language use by African Americans have significant implications for the examination of language in society and for understanding the role of language differences in education. The use of African American English and its role in the social, personal, and educational lives of young adults adds a critical perspective on the shifting role of language through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.